Image recording method

ABSTRACT

An image recording method includes a process of applying an ink containing a pigment to a recording medium, and a process of applying a liquid composition containing organic acid to the recording medium in such a manner as to be at least partially overlapped with a region to which the ink is applied. The content (% by mass) of the organic acid in the liquid composition is 10% by mass or more based on the total amount of the liquid composition. The content (% by mass) of an organic solvent in the liquid composition is 5% by mass or more based on the total amount of the liquid composition. The content (% by mass) of an organic solvent having a hydroxyl group in the liquid composition is 4% by mass or less based on the total amount of the liquid composition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/723,118, filed May 27, 2015, which claims the benefit of JapanesePatent Application No. 2014-111946, filed May 30, 2014, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image recording method.

Description of the Related Art

In recent years, an image recording method has drawn attention whichemploys a so-called two-component reaction system in which a liquidsubstantially not containing a coloring material (hereinafter referredto as a “liquid composition”) is used with ink mainly aiming at afurther improvement of image quality from the viewpoint of an increasein image quality and an increase in recording speed of recorded images.To the liquid composition to be used in such an image recording method,a component of aggregating coloring materials, such as pigments, in inkis usually added.

As specific related arts, image recording methods employing atwo-component reaction system have been proposed in which ink containingpolymer fine particles containing anionic polymer and a pigment and aliquid composition containing organic acid are used and an aggregationreaction caused by the contact of the ink and the liquid composition isutilized, for example (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2013-18948 and2010-69814). According to such methods, images can be recorded whichhave a higher resolution, a higher image density, and less blurring ascompared with a former one-component printing system using only ink.Furthermore, the image recording method employing a two-componentreaction system has a characteristic that the drying rate after printingis high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an image recording method including aprocess of applying an ink containing a pigment to a recording medium,and a process of applying a liquid composition containing organic acidto the recording medium in such a manner as to be at least partiallyoverlapped with a region to which the ink is applied, in which thecontent (% by mass) of the organic acid in the liquid composition is 10%by mass or more based on the total amount of the liquid composition, thecontent (% by mass) of an organic solvent in the liquid composition is5% by mass or more based on the total amount of the liquid composition,and the content (% by mass) of an organic solvent having a hydroxylgroup in the liquid composition is 4% by mass or less based on the totalamount of the liquid composition.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGURE is a cross sectional view showing an example of an imagerecording apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An examination of the present inventors has showed that when printinghas been performed at a high speed using a liquid composition afterlong-term storage according to the image recording method proposed inJapanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-18948, blurring and densityunevenness have occurred in images, so that it has been difficult toobtain a high definition image. Moreover, even when printing has beenperformed according to the image recording method proposed in JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 2010-69814, a high definition image free fromblurring and density unevenness has not been able to be obtained underhigh-speed recording.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an image recording methodcapable of obtaining a high definition image free from blurring anddensity unevenness even when recording is performed at a high speedusing a liquid composition after long-term storage.

Image Recording Method

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention is described but thepresent invention is not limited to the following embodiment. Thepresent inventors have first examined a reason why a high definitionimage free from blurring has not been able to be obtained when recordinghas been performed at a high speed using a liquid composition afterlong-term storage. As a result, it has been found that when a liquidcomposition has been stored over a long period of time, organic acid inthe liquid composition has reacted with an organic solvent having ahydroxyl group in the liquid composition to generate an ester compound,so that the content of the organic acid in the liquid composition hasdecreased. Therefore, it is assumed that the aggregation property of apigment in ink becomes insufficient, so that it has been difficult toobtain a high definition image free from blurring in high-speedrecording.

The present inventors have examined a method for suppressing imageblurring under the assumption described above, and has found aconfiguration of an image recording method according to an aspect of thepresent invention. More specifically, the image recording methodaccording to an aspect of the present invention has a process ofapplying an ink containing a pigment to a recording medium, and aprocess of applying a liquid composition containing organic acid to therecording medium in such a manner as to be at least partially overlappedwith a region to which the ink is applied. The content (% by mass) ofthe organic acid in the liquid composition is 10% by mass or more basedon the total amount of the liquid composition. The content (% by mass)of an organic solvent in the liquid composition is 5% by mass or morebased on the total amount of the liquid composition. The content (% bymass) of an organic solvent having a hydroxyl group in the liquidcomposition is 4% by mass or less based on the total amount of theliquid composition. Hereinafter, the details of the image recordingmethod according to an aspect of the present invention are described.

Liquid Composition

The liquid composition to be used in the image recording methodaccording to an aspect of the present invention contains organic acid.The liquid composition may further contain various components, such aswater, an organic solvent, a surfactant, and a pH adjuster.

Organic Acid

The organic acid in the liquid composition can aggregate the pigment inthe ink by contacting the ink. Therefore, when the liquid compositioncontaining organic acid is applied onto a recording medium, the pigmentin the ink aggregates due to the action of the organic acid in theliquid composition, so that bleeding and beading are suppressed.Therefore, a good image is recorded.

The content (% by mass) of the organic acid in the liquid composition is10% by mass or more, preferably 10% by mass or more and 95% by mass orless, more preferably 15% by mass or more and 90% by mass or less, andparticularly preferably 20% by mass or more and 80% by mass or lessbased on the total amount of the liquid composition. By the use of theliquid composition in which the content of the organic acid is 10% bymass or more, a high definition image in which blurring is suppressedcan be recorded. When the content of the organic acid in the liquidcomposition is less than 10%, the aggregation property of the inkbecomes insufficient, so that a high definition image free from blurringcannot be obtained.

Examples of the organic acid include, for example, oxalic acid, formicacid, acetic acid, propionic acid, glycolic acid, malonic acid, malicacid, maleic acid, ascorbic acid, levulinic acid, succinic acid,glutaric acid, glutamic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, 1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, pyrrolidone carboxylicacid, pyrone carboxylic acid, pyrrole carboxylic acid, furancarboxylicacid, pyridine carboxylic acid, coumarin acid, thiophene carboxylicacid, nicotinic acid, oxysuccinic acid, dioxysuccinic acid, and thelike. These organic acids can be used alone or in combination of two ormore kinds thereof.

Organic Solvent

The liquid composition to be used in the image recording methodaccording to an aspect of the present invention may contain solvents,such as water and an organic solvent. The content (% by mass) of theorganic solvent in the liquid composition needs to be 5% by mass or morebased on the total amount of the liquid composition. Furthermore, thecontent is preferably 5% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less, morepreferably 10% by mass or more and 40% by mass or less, and particularlypreferably 15% by mass or more and 30% by mass or less. By setting thecontent of the organic solvent within the range mentioned above, theapplication property of the liquid composition to a recording medium canbe further improved, so that density unevenness can be suppressed.

From the viewpoint of the long-term storageability of the liquidcomposition, it is suitable to use an organic solvent not having ahydroxyl group. In the present invention, the description “The long-termstorageability of liquid composition is good.” means that the amount ofthe organic acid in the liquid composition is difficult to decrease ordoes not substantially decrease due to the esterification reaction ofthe organic acid which is a component of increasing the viscosity of theink and the organic solvent having a hydroxyl group.

Examples of the organic solvent not having a hydroxyl group include, forexample, glycol diethers, such as diethylene glycol diethylether,triethylene glycol butyl methyl ether, tetraethylene glycol dimethylether, propylene glycol dimethyl ether, dipropylene glycol dimethylether, polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether 1000, and polyethylene glycoldimethyl ether 2000; alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether acetates, such asethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate; pyrrolidones, such as2-pyrrolidone and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; sulfur containing compounds,such as tetramethylene sulfone and dimethylsulfoxide, and the like.These organic solvents can be used alone or in combination of two ormore kinds thereof. These organic solvents can also be mixed with waterfor use.

Among the organic solvents mentioned above, glycol diether is suitable.By the use of glycol diether, an increase in viscosity of the liquidcomposition after long-term storage can be suppressed. The molecularweight of the glycol diether is preferably 250 or more and morepreferably 1,000 or more and 10,000 or less. By the use of glycoldiether having a molecular weight of 250 or more, the effect ofsuppressing the viscosity increase described above is efficientlydemonstrated, and an image in which blurring is suppressed can berecorded.

As the organic solvent to be blended in the liquid composition, organicsolvents having a hydroxyl group can also be used. The content (% bymass) of the organic solvent having a hydroxyl group in the liquidcomposition needs to be 4% by mass or less based on the total amount ofthe liquid composition. By setting the content of the organic solventhaving a hydroxyl group in the liquid composition to 4% by mass or less,the long-term storageability of the liquid composition can be improved.Therefore, even when recording is performed at a high speed, a highdefinition image free from blurring can be obtained. The content (% bymass) of the organic solvent having a hydroxyl group in the liquidcomposition is preferably 1% by mass or less. Furthermore, it issuitable that a treatment agent does not substantially contain (0% bymass or more) the organic solvent having a hydroxyl group.

Examples of the organic solvent having a hydroxyl group which can beblended in the liquid composition when the content is equal to or lessthan the predetermined content include, for example, diethylene glycolmonobutyl ether, 1,5-pentane diol, 1,2-hexane diol, glycerol, and thelike.

Other Components

In the liquid composition, surfactants can be blended in order to adjustthe surface tension. Examples of the surfactants include nonionicsurfactants, cationic surfactants, anionic surfactants, and the like canbe appropriately selected as necessary for use.

In the liquid composition, neutralizers can be blended in order toadjust the hydrogen ion density (pH). Examples of the neutralizersinclude, for example, potassium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, sodiumhydroxide, and the like. In the liquid composition, an antifoamingagent, an antiseptic, an antifungal agent, and the like can beappropriately blended as necessary in order to impart desiredproperties.

Ink

The ink to be used in the image recording method according to an aspectof the present invention is a pigment ink containing a pigment as theessential component. The ink may usually contain various components,such as polymer particles, pigment dispersants, e.g., a water-solublepolymer, water, organic solvents, surfactants, and pH adjusters.

Pigment

The type of the pigment is not particularly limited and known blackpigments and organic pigments can be used. As the black pigments, it issuitable to use carbon black. As the organic pigments, pigments denotedby the C.I. (Color Index) number can be used. The content (% by mass) ofthe pigment in the ink is preferably 0.2% by mass or more and 15.0% bymass or less and more preferably 0.6% by mass or more and 10.0% by massor less based on the entire ink mass.

Polymer Particles

It is suitable for the ink to be used in the image recording methodaccording to an aspect of the present invention to contain polymerparticles. The “polymer particles” in the present invention refer topolymer which can be present in the form of a dispersion in a solvent inthe state of having a particle diameter. The volume average particlediameter (D₅₀) of the polymer particles is preferably 10 nm or more and1,000 nm or less and more preferably 40 nm or more and 500 nm or less.

The volume average particle diameter of the polymer particles can bemeasured using a polymer particle dispersion, such as ink diluted 50times (in terms of volume) with pure water, as a measurement sample andusing a particle size distribution meter of a dynamic light scatteringsystem, for example. As the particle size distribution meter of adynamic light scattering system, “UPA-EX150” (Trade name, manufacturedby Nikkiso) and the like can be used, for example. The measurementconditions may be set as follows: SetZero: 30 s, Number of times ofmeasurement: 3 times, Measurement time: 180 seconds, Refractive index:1.5, and the like, for example.

The weight average molecular weight in terms of polystyrene to bemeasured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) of the polymerconstituting the polymer particles is preferably 1,000 or more and2,000,000 or less. The content (% by mass) of the polymer particles inthe ink is preferably 3% by mass or more and 20% by mass or less, morepreferably 3% by mass or more and 15% by mass or less, and particularlypreferably 5% by mass or more and 10% by mass or less based on theentire ink mass. The content (% by mass) of the polymer particles basedon the entire ink mass is preferably 0.2 times or more and 100 times orless in terms of a mass ratio (Polymer particles/Pigment) to the content(% by mass) of the pigment.

Monomers to be used for preparing the polymer forming the polymerparticles may be any monomer insofar as the monomer can be used inpolymerization methods, such as an emulsion polymerization method, asuspension polymerization method, and a dispersion polymerizationmethod. The polymer is classified into an acryl type, a vinyl acetatetype, an ester type, an ethylene type, a urethane type, a syntheticrubber type, a vinyl chloride type, a vinylidene chloride type, anolefin type, and the like based on a difference in the monomers, forexample. The polymer forming the polymer particles is suitably ananionic polymer and more suitably an acrylic polymer or a urethanepolymer.

Examples of monomers to be used for preparing the acrylic polymerinclude, for example, α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids and saltsthereof, such as (meth)acrylic acid, maleic acid, crotonic acid, angelicacid, itaconic acid, and fumaric acid; α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acidester compounds, such as ethyl (meth)acrylate, methyl (meth)acrylate,butyl (meth)acrylate, methoxyethyl (meth)acrylate, ethoxyethyl(meth)acrylate, diethylene glycol (meth)acrylate, triethylene glycol(meth)acrylate, tetraethylene glycol (meth)acrylate, polyethylene glycol(meth)acrylate, methoxydiethylene glycol (meth)acrylate,methoxytriethylene glycol (meth)acrylate, methoxytetraethylene glycol(meth)acrylate, methoxypolyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate, cyclohexyl(meth)acrylate, isobornyl (meth)acrylate, N,N-dimethylaminopropyl(meth)acrylate, monobutyl maleate, and dimethyl itaconate;α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid alkylamide compounds, such as(meth)acrylamide, dimethyl (meth)acrylamide, N,N-dimethylethyl(meth)acrylamide, N,N-dimethylpropyl (meth)acrylamide, isopropyl(meth)acrylamide, diethyl (meth)acrylamide, (meth)acryloyl morpholine,maleic acid monoamide, and crotonic acid methylamide; arylgroup-containing α,β-ethylenic unsaturated compounds, such as styrene,α-methylstyrene, phenylvinyl acetate, benzyl (meth)acrylate, and2-phenoxyethyl (meth)acrylate; and ester compounds of polyfunctionalalcohols, such as ethylene glycol diacrylate and polypropylene glycoldimethacrylate.

The acrylic polymer may be a homopolymer or a copolymer. The copolymermay be a random copolymer or a block copolymer. The acrylic polymer issuitably a polymer synthesized using hydrophilic monomers andhydrophobic monomers. Examples of the hydrophilic monomers include theα,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids and salts thereof. Examples of thehydrophobic monomers include the α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid estercompounds and the aryl group-containing α,β-ethylenic unsaturatedcompounds.

The urethane polymer is a polymer prepared by reacting polyisocyanatewhich is a compound having two or more isocyanate groups and polyolwhich is a compound having two or more hydroxy groups. In the presentinvention, any urethane polymer obtained by reacting knownpolyisocyanates and known polyols can be used.

Examples of the structure of the polymer particles include a monolayerstructure and multi layer structures, such as a core-shell structure. Inthe present invention, it is suitable to use polymer particles having amulti layer structure and it is more suitable to use polymer particleshaving a core-shell structure. In the polymer particles having acore-shell structure, the functions of the core portion and the shellportion are clearly separated. The polymer particles having such acore-shell structure are suitable because a larger number of functionscan be imparted to ink as compared with polymer particles having amonolayer structure.

Pigment Dispersant

In ink, a pigment dispersant for dispersing a pigment in the ink can beblended. As the pigment dispersant, pigment dispersants for use in knowninkjet ink can be used. In particular, it is suitable to use awater-soluble polymer having both a hydrophilic portion and ahydrophobic portion in the molecular structure as the pigmentdispersant. A pigment dispersant containing a water-soluble polymerobtained by copolymerizing hydrophilic monomers and hydrophobic monomersis particularly suitable. Examples of the hydrophilic monomers includeacrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, and the like having acarboxy machine which is an anionic functional group. Examples of thehydrophobic monomers include styrene, styrene derivatives, alkyl(meth)acrylate, benzyl (meth)acrylate, and the like.

The acid value of the water-soluble polymer to be used as the pigmentdispersant is preferably 50 mgKOH/g or more and 550 mgKOH/g or less. Theweight average molecular weight of the water-soluble polymer ispreferably 1,000 or more and 50,000 or less.

The mass ratio of the pigment and the pigment dispersant contained inink is preferably Pigment:Pigment dispersant=1:0.1 to 1:3. It is alsosuitable to use a so-called self-dispersibility pigment which isobtained by modifying the surface of a pigment itself to make thepigment dispersible in ink in place of the use of a pigment dispersant.

Other Components

In ink, various additives, such as a pH adjuster, an antirust, anantiseptic, an antifungal agent, an antioxidant, a reduction inhibitor,a neutralizer of water-soluble polymer, and salts may be blended, asnecessary.

Moreover, surfactants can be blended in ink in order to adjust thesurface tension. As the surfactants, any surfactant can be used insofaras the surfactant does not adversely affect ink, e.g., reducing thestorage stability. Examples of usable surfactants include, for example,anionic surfactants, such as fatty acid salts, higher alcohol sulfateester salts, liquid fatty oil sulfate ester salts, and alkylarylsulfonate salts; and nonionic surfactants, such as polyoxy ethylenealkyl esters, polyoxy ethylene sorbitan alkyl esters, acetylenealcohols, and acetylene glycols. These surfactants can be used alone orin combination of two or more kinds thereof.

Image Recording Method

The image recording method according to an aspect of the presentinvention has a process (1) of applying the above-described ink to arecording medium and a process (2) of applying the above-describedliquid composition to the recording medium in such a manner as to beoverlapped with a region to which the ink is applied. It is alsosuitable to further have a process of heating a recording medium beforeand/or after the process (1). In the process (1), it is suitable toeject the ink from a recording head of an inkjet ink system to apply theink to the recording medium. In the process (2), the liquid compositionmay be ejected from the recording head of an inkjet ink system to beapplied to the recording medium or may be applied to the recordingmedium using application members, such as an application roller.Examples of an apparatus for implementing the image recording methodaccording to an aspect of the present invention include, for example, aknown inkjet ink recording apparatus, an apparatus in which anapplication mechanism is provided in an inkjet ink recording apparatus,and the like.

Examples of the recording head to be placed in the inkjet ink recordingapparatus include a recording head of a system including ejecting liquiddue to the action of mechanical energy, a recording head of a systemincluding ejecting liquid due to the action of thermal energy, and thelike. In the present invention, it is suitable to use the recording headof a system including ejecting liquid due to the action of thermalenergy.

The application amount of the liquid composition to a recording mediummay be adjusted as appropriate in accordance with the configuration ofthe ink to be reacted with the liquid composition. From the viewpoint ofthe uniformity, fixability, and the like of images to be obtained, theapplication amount of the liquid composition to a recording medium ispreferably 0.2 g/m² or more and 10.0 g/m² or less and more preferably0.8 g/m² or more and 6.0 g/m² or less. When the region to which theliquid composition is applied is only one part with respect to the size(area: m²) of a recording medium, the application amount (g/m²) of theliquid composition calculated based on the assumption that the liquidcomposition is applied to the entire surface of the recording medium issuitably within the range mentioned above.

When the liquid composition is applied to a recording medium usingapplication members, such as an application roller, it is suitable todetermine the process order in such a manner that the process (1) iscarried out, and then the process (2) is carried out and also to set tothe viscosity of the liquid composition to be higher than the viscosityof the ink. When the viscosity of the liquid composition is higher thanthe viscosity of the ink, the liquid composition is likely to stay nearthe surface of the recording medium, so that the liquid composition islikely to be effectively reacted with the ink. Therefore, the ink can beeffectively made unstable by the liquid composition with a smallapplication amount, so that the fixability and the like of an image canbe further increased.

The pigment in the ink after reacting with the liquid composition staysnear the surface of the recording medium and water, the organic solvent,and the like in the ink promptly permeate in the depth direction of therecording medium. More specifically, it is suitable to separate the inkafter reacting with the liquid composition into a solid and a liquid,and therefore it is suitable that the viscosity of the ink is low fromthe viewpoint of the fixability and the like of images. When the liquidcomposition is applied to a recording medium using application members,such as an application roller, the viscosity of the liquid compositionis preferably 3 mPa·s or more and 10 Pa·s or less and more preferably 10mPa·s or more and 1 Pa·s or less. The viscosity of the ink is preferably1 mPa·s or more and 15 mPa·s or less.

When both the liquid composition and the ink are ejected from therecording head of an inkjet ink system to be applied to a recordingmedium, either the process (1) or the process (2) may be carried outfirst. Furthermore, the process (1) and the process (2) may be carriedout in combination. In particular, it is suitable to determine theprocess order in such a manner that the process (1) is carried out, andthen the process (2) is carried out.

From the viewpoint of the ejection property from the recording head ofan inkjet ink system, both the viscosity of the liquid composition andthe viscosity of the ink are preferably 1 mPa·s or more and 15 mPa·s orless and more preferably 1 mPa·s or more and 5 mPa·s or less. Both thesurface tension of the liquid composition and the surface tension of theink are preferably 15 mN/m or more and 50 mN/m or less. It is suitablefor the surface tension of the liquid composition to be higher than thesurface tension of the ink within the range where the liquid compositioncan be ejected from the recording head of an inkjet ink system. Thus,the liquid composition can be prevented from blurring in a placedifferent from a recording area formed with ink and also the liquidcomposition and the ink can be efficiently reacted with each other on arecording medium.

EXAMPLES

Hereinafter, the present invention is described in more detail withreference to Examples and Comparative Examples and is not limited toExamples described below without deviating the gist thereof. Withrespect to the amount of components, “part(s)” and “%” are all based onmass unless otherwise specified.

Preparation of Liquid Composition

Components were mixed in accordance with the compositions shown in Table1 to prepare liquid compositions 1 to 29. 90 mL of each prepared liquidcomposition was placed in a 180 mL fluoropolymer container, and thenstored in a 60° C. oven for two weeks to be formed into a liquidcomposition after long-term storage.

TABLE 1 Organic acid Organic solvent Amount Amount Water Type (part)Type (part) (part) Liquid Malonic acid 30 DEGdM 20 50 composition 1Liquid Malic acid 30 DEGEM 20 50 composition 2 Liquid Citric acid 30TEGBM 20 50 composition 3 Liquid Citric acid 10 TEGBM 20 70 composition4 Liquid Citric acid 20 TEGBM 20 60 composition 5 Liquid Citric acid 30PEGdM1000 20 50 composition 6 Liquid Citric acid 30 PEGdM2000 20 50composition 7 Liquid Citric acid 30 2Py 20 50 composition 8 LiquidCitric acid 30 NMP 20 50 composition 9 Liquid Citric acid 30 TeMSu 20 50composition 10 Liquid Glutaric acid 30 TEGBM 20 50 composition 11 LiquidSuccinic acid 30 TEGBM 20 50 composition 12 Liquid 1,2,3- 30 DEGEM 20 50composition propanetri- 13 carboxylic acid Liquid Malonic acid 15 TEGBM20 50 composition Glutaric acid 15 14 Liquid Malonic acid 15 DEGEM 20 50composition Malic acid 15 15 Liquid Malonic acid 30 DEGmB  4 50composition TEGBM 16 16 Liquid Glutaric acid  5 TEGBM 20 75 composition17 Liquid Glutaric acid 30 DEGmB 20 50 composition 18 Liquid Glutaricacid 30 15PD 20 50 composition 19 Liquid Glutaric acid 30 12HD 20 50composition 20 Liquid Malonic acid 30 Gly 20 50 composition 21 LiquidGlutaric acid 30 PEG1000 20 50 composition 22 Liquid Malic acid 30 15PD20 50 composition 23 Liquid Succinic acid 30 12HD 20 50 composition 24Liquid 1,2,3- 30 DEGmB 20 50 composition propanetri- 25 carboxylic acidLiquid Malonic acid 15 DEGmB 20 50 composition Glutaric acid 15 26Liquid Malonic acid 30 DEGmB  5 50 composition TEGBM 15 27 LiquidGlutaric acid 30 TEGBM  5 65 composition 28 Liquid Glutaric acid 30TEGBM  2 68 composition 29

The meaning of each of the abbreviations in Table 1 is shown below.

-   -   DEGdM: Diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (Molecular weight of        134)    -   DEGEM: Diethylene glycol ethyl methyl ether (Molecular weight of        148)    -   TEGBM: Triethylene glycol butyl methyl ether (Molecular weight        of 220)    -   PEGdM1000: Polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether 1000        (Number-average molecular weight of 1000)    -   PEGdM2000: Polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether 2000        (Number-average molecular weight of 2000)    -   2Py: 2-pyrrolidone    -   NMP: N-methyl pyrrolidone    -   TeMSu: Tetramethylene sulfone    -   DEGmB: Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether    -   15PD: 1,5-pentane diol    -   12HD: 1,2-hexane diol    -   Gly: Glycerol    -   PEG1000: Polyethylene glycol 1000 (Number-average molecular        weight of 1000)

Preparation of Black Pigment Dispersion Liquid

10 parts of a pigment, 15 parts of an aqueous polymer solution having a20% solid content, and 75 parts of pure water were mixed, and thenplaced in a batch type vertical sand mill (manufactured by Aimex Co.,Ltd.). The sand mill was filled with 200 parts of zirconia beads havinga diameter of 0.3 mm, and then dispersion treatment was carried out for5 hours under water-cooling to obtain a dispersion liquid. As thepigment, carbon black (Trade name “Monarch 1100”, manufactured by Cabot)was used. As the aqueous polymer solution, an aqueous solution of astyrene-ethyl acrylate-acrylic acid copolymer (Acid value: 150 mgKOH/g,Weight average molecular weight: 8,000, Neutralizer: potassiumhydroxide) was used. The obtained dispersion liquid was placed in acentrifugal separator to remove coarse particles, whereby a blackpigment dispersion liquid having a pigment concentration of about 10%was obtained.

Preparation of Cyan Pigment Dispersion Liquid

A cyan pigment dispersion liquid having a pigment concentration of about10% was obtained in the same manner as in the black pigment dispersionliquid described above, except using C.I. pigment blue 15:3 as thepigment.

Aqueous Solution of Water-Soluble Polymer

An aqueous solution (Solid content of 20%) of a styrene-butylacrylate-acrylic acid copolymer (Acid value: 121 mgKOH/g, Weight averagemolecular weight: 7,000, Neutralizer: potassium hydroxide) was used asan aqueous solution of a water-soluble polymer 1.

Preparation of Polymer Particle Dispersion

18 parts of ethyl methacrylate, 2 parts of2,2′-azobis(2-methylbutyronitrile), and 2 parts of n-hexadecane weremixed, and then stirred for 0.5 hour to obtain a mixture. The obtainedmixture was added dropwise to 78 parts of a 6% aqueous solution of astyrene-butyl acrylate-acrylic acid copolymer (Acid value: 130 mgKOH/g,Weight average molecular weight: 7,000), stirred for 0.5 hour, and thenirradiated with ultrasonic waves for 3 hours using an ultrasonic waveemitting machine. Subsequently, a polymerization reaction was performedat 80° C. for 4 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere. The resultantsubstance was cooled to room temperature, and then filtered to obtain apolymer particle dispersion 1 having a polymer content of 40.0%. Theweight average molecular weight of the polymer constituting the polymerparticles in the obtained polymer particle dispersion 1 was 250,000 andthe volume average particle diameter (D₅₀) of the polymer particles was200 nm.

Preparation of Ink

Components were mixed in accordance with the compositions (Total: 100parts) shown in Table 2, sufficiently stirred, and then filtered underpressure through a microfilter having a pore size of 3.0 μm(manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation), whereby a black ink 1, a blackink 2, a cyan ink 1, and a cyan ink 2 were prepared.

TABLE 2 Black Cyan Aqueous pigment pigment solution of Polymerdispersion dispersion water-soluble particle liquid liquid polymer 1dispersion 1 Glycerol Surfactant^(*1) Water Black ink 1 20 — 17 — 7 1Balance Cyan ink 1 — 20 17 — 7 1 Balance Black ink 2 20 — 17 25 7 1Balance Cyan ink 2 — 20 17 25 7 1 Balance ^(*1)Nonionic surfactant(Trade name “Acetylenol E100”, manufactured by Kawaken Fine ChemicalsCo., Ltd.)

Images were recorded using the prepared liquid compositions afterlong-term storage, black ink, and cyan ink in the combinations shown inTable 3.

TABLE 3 Liquid composition Ink Example 1 Liquid composition 1 Cyan ink2/Black ink 2 Example 2 Liquid composition 2 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2Example 3 Liquid composition 3 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 4 Liquidcomposition 4 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 5 Liquid composition 5 Cyanink 2/Black ink 2 Example 6 Liquid composition 6 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2Example 7 Liquid composition 7 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 8 Liquidcomposition 8 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 9 Liquid composition 9 Cyanink 2/Black ink 2 Example 10 Liquid composition 10 Cyan ink 2/Black ink2 Example 11 Liquid composition 11 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 12Liquid composition 12 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 13 Liquidcomposition 13 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 14 Liquid composition 14Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 15 Liquid composition 15 Cyan ink 2/Blackink 2 Example 16 Liquid composition 16 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Example 17Liquid composition 3 Cyan ink 1/Black ink 1 Example 18 Liquidcomposition 28 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 1 Liquidcomposition 17 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 2 Liquidcomposition 18 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 3 Liquidcomposition 19 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 4 Liquidcomposition 20 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 5 Liquidcomposition 21 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 6 Liquidcomposition 22 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 7 Liquidcomposition 23 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 8 Liquidcomposition 24 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 9 Liquidcomposition 25 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 10 Liquidcomposition 26 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 11 Liquidcomposition 27 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2 Comparative Example 12 Liquidcomposition 29 Cyan ink 2/Black ink 2

Recording of Images and Evaluation of Image Blurring

An ink cartridge was filled with each ink, and then attached to an imagerecording apparatus illustrated in FIGURE. The liquid composition afterlong-term storage was applied using an application roller 3 to arecording medium 1 placed on a conveyance stage 2. The applicationamount of the liquid composition was 1.0 g/m². The ink was ejected tothe recording medium 1, to which the liquid composition was applied,from an inkjet recording head 4 according to the procedure describedbelow to record images.

With an image recording apparatus used in Examples above, the conditionwhere one ink droplet of 3.0 ng was applied to a unit region of 1/1,200inch× 1/1,200 inch with a resolution of 1,200 dpi×1,200 dpi is definedas a recording duty of 100%. The cyan ink was used for a first landingink and the black ink was used for a second landing ink. Then, solidimages having a recording duty of 100% were recorded in a 5 cm×5 cmregion with the first landing ink. Then, the second landing ink was madeto land on the solid images (drawing portions) to record evaluationimages. The time difference between the landing inks was set to 50 msec.The presence or absence of blurring of dots of the second landing ink onthe solid images was observed using an optical microscope to evaluateimage blurring in accordance with the following criteria.

AA: No blurring and very goodA: No blurring and goodB: Partial blurring and within tolerance rangeC: Partial blurring and out of tolerance range

D: Blurring Evaluation of Image Density Unevenness

In the printing method described above, continuous printing wasperformed for 7 hours, solid images having 100% Duty were formed in a 5cm×5 cm region using the cyan ink, and then the density unevenness ofthe solid images was observed under an optical microscope.

A: No density unevenness and very goodB: Partial density unevenness and within tolerance rangeC: Density unevenness and out of tolerance range

TABLE 4 Image Image density blurring unevenness Example 1 A A Example 2A A Example 3 A A Example 4 B A Example 5 A A Example 6 AA A Example 7AA A Example 8 B A Example 9 B A Example 10 B A Example 11 A A Example12 A A Example 13 A A Example 14 A A Example 15 A A Example 16 B AExample 17 B A Example 18 A B Comparative C B Example 1 Comparative C BExample 2 Comparative D B Example 3 Comparative D B Example 4Comparative D B Example 5 Comparative C B Example 6 Comparative D BExample 7 Comparative D B Example 8 Comparative D B Example 9Comparative C B Example 10 Comparative C B Example 11 Comparative B CExample 12

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

1. An image recording method comprising: applying an ink comprising apigment to a recording medium; and applying a liquid compositioncomprising organic acid and one or more organic solvents to therecording medium in such a manner as to be at least partially overlappedwith a region to which the ink is applied, wherein a content (% by mass)of the organic acid in the liquid composition is 10% by mass or morebased on a total amount of the liquid composition, a content (% by mass)of the one or more organic solvents in the liquid composition is 5% bymass or more based on the total amount of the liquid composition,wherein the one or more organic solvents do not contain an organicsolvent having a hydroxyl group, or contain one or more organic solventshaving a hydroxyl group, and a content (% by mass) of the one or moreorganic solvents having the hydroxyl group in the liquid composition is4% by mass or less based on the total amount of the liquid composition,and wherein at least one of the one or more organic solvents is apyrrolidone.
 2. The image recording method according to claim 1, whereinthe pyrrolidone is 2-pyrrolidone.
 3. The image recording methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the content (% by mass) of the one or moreorganic solvent in the liquid composition is 5% by mass or more and 60%by mass or less based on the total amount of the liquid composition. 4.The image recording method according to claim 1, wherein the organicacid is selected from a group consisting of malonic acid, malic acid,citric acid, glutaric acid, succinic acid, and1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid.
 5. The image recording method accordingto claim 1, wherein the content (% by mass) of the organic acid in theliquid composition is 10% by mass or more and 95% or less based on atotal amount of the liquid composition.
 6. The image recording methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the ink further contains polymerparticles.
 7. The image recording method according to claim 1, wherein apolymer forming the polymer particles is selected from a groupconsisting of an acrylic polymer and a urethane polymer.
 8. The imagerecording method according to claim 1, wherein the ink further containsa water-soluble polymer.